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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Chocolate Orange Gateau

It was on Friday late-afternoon that hubby called me up and told me that we were having a get-together on Saturday night at a friends’ house to celebrate his wife’s birthday.Along with some dishes,I was requested to bake the Birthday Cake:)!!Though my heart did a leap at the prospect of a new baking experiment,it started pressing the panic button too soon at the thought of serving the cake to the guests-which btw included hubby’s boss and wife!!

When in doubt-twitter..I know that mantra works all the time.The thought of having a helping hand a tweet away is a pleasure we tweeters enjoy.”Tweet tweet”,I got Ria as my Guru.Poor thing,she kept giving me ideas after ideas,but I was too scared to try out something new and something elaborate.She then suggested Deeba’s Chocolate Orange gateau,which she had tried out recently and got rave reviews from friends and family.Though that sounded quite a tough task to achieve for a limited baker like me,I calmed down and went through the recipe slowly.It wasn’t too hard after all..:)

I baked the cake immediately,lest I change my mind later.Then one by one I went about making the filling and the frosting.Since the birthday was a day later,I had lots of time to re-do if at all things went wrong[which,Thank God was not required].

The cake was a breeze to make.[Now I can say this..but while making it I was jumping up and down the floor in tension].Whipping the cream was a tough task,but I was very patient[for a change]and got the required results.Making the ganache was the easiest step-I really don’t know why I kept shying away from ganache all this while.Ganache frosted cakes..here I come..:).

Transporting the cake was another hiccup.I placed it on my lap and the AC was on full blast lest the frosting decide to do a melting game.But nothing like that happened and I was able to present the cake to the birthday girl-lady in its proper avatar.The cake was ♥ed by all,chilled to perfection and the flavours gelled with each other,one of my best cakes so far-lookswise and tastewise.

Changes I made-I cut the cake into two[was too chicken to attempt 3-4 layers].Skipped the almond paste in the whipped cream.Mixed some leftover ganache with the whipped cream and went crazy piping swirls and designs and what not.

Take my word for it and bake it for your friends family or why,even for yourself.If I can make it look like this,believe me,anyone can!!

Thanks to Deeba for the wonderful recipe and Ria for the required push..:).♥ ya peeps:).

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Line an 8" springform tin. (the original recipe uses 2 8" sandwich tins)-I used a normal 8' cake tin.Sift the cornflour + flour + baking powder + salt + icing sugar (yes, it's correct) into a mixing bowl.Beat the egg whites till they stand in soft peaks & keep aside.Lightly beat the oil + water + yolks together & stir into the dry ingredients.Beat until smooth, & stir in the juice & zest.Fold the whites gently into the yolk mixture.Turn into lined tin & bake for about 45 minutes till well risen & golden brown. Check if it is done with a wooden pick.( Slide a sheet of foil lightly over the top if it begins to brown too fast).Leave in tin for 10 minutes, & then cool completely on rack.Once cool, cut into 2 or 3 layers.

Filling

Whip the cream + sugar till firm. Whisk in the ground almonds.Reserve a little cream for the topping, & sandwich the layers with the rest.

Ganache

Put the cream & dark chocolate into a pan heat over low heat till all the chocolate has melted, stirring constantly. Stir well, & leave to cool.Frost the sides & top of the cake with the ganache.Decorate the top with grated chocolate curls & pipe a design with the reserved almond cream.Top with a few slices of orange, chocolate shavings & silver dragees etc.Dust with some powdered sugar.

Chill well & serve right out of the fridge! This gateau doesn't need to sit at room temperature for a while; it's great! -Believe me,it truly is!!

[Am off to Kerala for a while,so will be MIA for a couple of days.Till then,all of you take care and have fun..Happy blogging;)]

45 comments
:

That's a BEAUTIFUL cake! You have a talent hidden inside you gurl! And you panicked so much?? LOL! WTG! I am so happy that you finally made what you were planning to though you gave me excuses of no orange, no lemon stuff! :)

Looks too good Divya..Do try sometime an eggless version too and let me know so that I too can try this.. :-) You have done a good job at decoration too. Good work...your husband must have been so proud of you. :-) btw, which cream did you use??amul fresh cream????

BEAYOOOOOTIFUL! And u call that a breeze??!!!! Hats off to u! Maybe.. one day, I will try that.. I want to, but I tremble at the knees at the prospect of making something so elaborate (thats the way it looks from my side of the fence)

divya, that cake looks great!! i really like the icing.. i am not much of an icing person.. i hardly ever dress up my cakes with icing.. i must say ur's has come out beautifully! wats was the bday lady's reaction to it?

Divya,The birthday lady definitely enjoyed the cake , the fish curry, fish fry and the chicken fry. Beautiful dishes from a beautiful person . That is what you and your dishes are Divya. Kudos! to the Kuduas . One who , tastes and approves and the other who cooks and creates magic and finally that is how we all enjoy the passion and past time of the Kuduas

Thanks a million once again for the lovely evening topped with your lipsmacking recipes Chithra

That was a real nice evening with all your lipsmacking dishes. A LOVELY person with great RECIPES that is DivyaKudua. KUDOS and THREE cheers to both the KUDUAS. One who tastes and approves and the other who creates magic for others palate. Thank you , The 'BIRTHDAY LADY' definitely had a great time

Wonderful cake...I have a doubt..the recipe says 150 gms of flour (whch shld amount to more than a cup around 1.2 cups) but in brackets the amount in mentioned as 1/2 cup+1/8 cup (..how much flour should i use ? ( more than a cup or 1/2 cup)Reena

Hi Divya,you have been mentor to me.I have learned baking and emerged by reading yours blogs.I have nearly made all the cakes, but this one is evervbody's fav.thanks alot for being there whenever i feel like baking.